Reliable

How to spell reliable

8 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce reliable

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does reliable mean?

1. adjectiveConsistently good and able to be trusted or depended on.

Reliable in a sentence

• The office needs a reliable printer that never jams during deadlines.

• She earned a reputation as a reliable colleague who always meets her targets.

Where does reliable come from?

Language of origin: Latin

Reliable is an English formation built on the verb 'rely' plus the suffix '-able', which marks something as worthy of or capable of an action. 'Rely' itself came through Old French 'relier', meaning 'to bind together' or 'to fasten', which descended from the Latin 'religare', literally 'to bind back' or 'to tie fast', from 're- (back) and 'ligare' (to bind). The original idea of binding gradually softened into the figurative sense of attaching your trust to someone, so to rely on a person was to fasten your confidence to them. The adjective 'reliable' is surprisingly young, gaining wide use only in the 1800s, and some Victorian critics actually objected to it as an awkward coinage before it became completely standard. The same 'ligare' root that means 'to bind' also gives us 'ligament' and 'oblige', a useful reminder that reliability is about being firmly bound to your word.

How the word is built

• rely (to depend on, from Latin religare: to bind back)
• -able (capable of, worthy of)